School bus issues should be top priority

It’s a sinking feeling many parents experience at one time or another. It’s late afternoon and their child should have been home at least an hour ago, but the bus is nowhere to be seen. And there doesn’t seem to be anywhere to turn for reliable information.

That’s one of the problems that was reported during Lafayette Parish School System’s first week of school, along with overcrowded buses and problems with routes.

But all those problems are being addressed, said Brad Duhon, assistant transportation director for LPSS.

It’s good to know those in charge of the district’s most precious cargo has been taking steps to resolve the problems — although some are not as easy to fix as others.

One of the main problems, Duhon said, was a perfect storm of mechanical failures. Between 12 and 15 buses broke down during the first week of school.

The transportation department is working on repairs to existing buses and officials hope to purchase some new buses, budget permitting, Duhon said.

As a rule, problems often arise during the first week of schools because ... well ... it’s the first week of school. Some students are attending a new school for the first time. Bus routes have changed and drivers haven’t become familiar with the routes or the children riding on their buses.

That’s normal, unfortunately.

Consider the logistics: LPSS transports about 25,000 students over 285 bus routes that total about 12,000 miles. All in one day.

The first couple of weeks can be confusing for everyone.

For parents, however, that is small comfort, when their elementary school child isn’t where he or she is supposed to be.

There are protocols in place for those situations, Duhon said. When a bus breaks down or is involved in an accident, the driver notifies the transportation department, which in turn, notifies the children’s schools. Then, calls go out to parents through the automated PACE system.

But during the first few weeks of school, not all the student information has been input into the system. That is further complicated by parents who don’t register their children for a new school until classes are already in session. More first week woes, it would seem.

But this is the time when problems are most likely to occur with bus routes and the most critical time for the communications system to be operating properly.

Getting children’s information updated as quickly as possible should be a priority for officials at each school so even if a bus breaks down, communications don’t.

So, why don’t the parents try to get information from the transportation department when buses are late? In a recent article in The Daily Advertiser, parents reported not being able to reach anyone at the LPSS transportation department after 4:30 p.m.

That problem is being addressed, as well, Duhon said. A call center has been put in place and is open until 6 p.m. each school day. The call center will eventually be done away with, but calls will be routed to his cellphone or his assistant’s. The number is 337-521-744. It’s on the LPSS website and is listed in the phone book and with Directory Assistance.

That should help with the communications problem. The confusion over bus routes is also being resolved, Duhon said.

A tougher issue is overcrowded buses.

Because of trouble obtaining accurate head counts of children in some areas, there were more children than expected on some routes.

While loading children onto overcrowded buses is unsafe and unacceptable, so is the alternative — leaving children standing alone on the street..

That problem is being worked out, as well, Duhon said, with adjustments to bus routes.

The school year may have had a bit of a rocky start, but it seems LPSS is taking the proper steps to remedy the problems.

The solution to some of the issues — additional buses and drivers — may not be cheap, but there are few issues more important than the safe transportation of our children to and from school.